I would have thought that there are a hundred threads about it already but it doesn’t seem so. Anyway, since breaking several bones in my left foot a few years ago my knee seems to have a thing on its own going on. Its not that its painful or anything, its just feels weird at times. I also noticed that my heels want to be as much inwards as possible. I am currently using Shimano’s with yellow cleats and am fine doing that. I did develop knee issues while running but after seeing a physio that seems to be under control somehow. I still don’t feel 100% comfortable with the knee while riding, even though that I don’t experience any pain and can ride 100ks without thinking twice. Hard to describe really, its like feeling that my knee would prefer a slightly different movement. Which brings me to speedplay pedals as they seem to allow my knee to do whatever it wants so to speak. Whats your experience with them? Do you like them? Do you hate them? Is it easy to get used to them? Will I make a fool of myself at the coffee shop while trying to walk?
Switching to them from look keo’s got rid of my knee pain and sciatica in under a week. I love them.
To answer your other questions, I have some cleat covers that I keep in a jersey pocket. If you put them on when you have to walk you’ll be sweet, otherwise you risk getting dirt in the mechanism and that’s bad.
They’re pretty easy to get used to. Push down with the ball of the foot to get into them.
One thing I like is you can adjust the float from day to day and have none on one foot and tons on another if you want.
If you lived in brisbane you could borrow mine for a test.
Me too. Roadie and track (with straps). Buy the “keep on cleat covers” or “stay on cleat covers” if you with the Zero’s or if you buy the newer ones they can use the new walkable cleats. No cleats covers are slippery and flog out, but it will take ages to kill em 
Yeah just chiming in here. I love them. Use them on my roadie and the track. The guys above have said all the good stuff. To give an unbiased review, you do need to keep the cleats pretty clean and lubricated. Also, grease the axles every other service etc and you’ll be sweet. What is cool is that each part is replaceable
Except the roller bearing in the pedal itself… ask me how I know bro 
The most underrated thing bout them is the double side clip-in. Spd stylez. Soo good when your commute has traffic lights.
I run look (no float) on the track, and speedplays on roadie.
But you can only clip in one side at a time?
I use the track badboys for road, tt, track and on my cross bike if i dont think I’ll be doing too much walking (not when racing of course).
I like free float in the range i want (being a pretty narrow angle with greater heel in than out) but with a hard kick to unclip.
If you’ve got wierd biometrics, you won’t find anything better given the adjustability and free float (one of my legs tracks weird). Speaking of which, if you’ve a tendancy to run heel in, check the lateral tracking of your knee through the pedal stroke. If they’re making little circles looking from above, running a narrower q factor by sliding the speedplay cleats outboard and using angled cleat shims (or insoles that acheive the same thing) will likely alleviate a lot of knee issues.
Keep on covers are a must on each set of shoes… if for nothing else but to keep the cleat screws in there if (when) they come loose.
… I’ve even used them on bmx now cause nothing else feels right.
Bukebug have them super cheap at present… almost bought another set of tracks the other day when chasing new cleats purely because it seemed nonsensical to spend 60 bucks on those when cleats and pedals were a little.over 100
Counterpoint: I tried them and wasn’t a fan. But I don’t have any issues with knees/ankles or any weird biomechanical dramas.
Had some vague knee issues which are totally gone. Love them. Don’t use covers or anything, just blaze it. Will feel odd for the first week or so. Getting out of the saddle feels bizarre at first but you rapidly get used to it. I wouldn’t use any other pedal.
I’ve wanted to try them for a long time, and finally got a pair of their Syzr which is their MTB/SPD equivalent pedal. I like them but find them over-engineered, which is a general problem with Speedplay: too many screws and bits everywhere, these pedals are extraordinarily complicated. So I tend to trust them less and always have this slight worry that something will go wrong while riding. The torque limit on the cleat is also a lot lower than the other pedals I know, so I always think I’m going to snatch them off the shoe. Probs unlikely though.
I’ve always used Look Keos on the road and a couple years ago had knee issues, which were solved very quickly from switching from the Look grey cleat to the red cleat. If you’re after a lot of float, these cleats give 9 degrees while speedplays give you up to 15 degrees, which is probably overkill for most people.
Speedplay are excellent with the double entry though.
Can’t speak to the value of anything off-road. But I think as a road specific pedal that offers the dual entry and float etc they’re hard to top if you have issues. I run very little float inwards but like to kick my heels out when digging in on the track or seated climbing etc.
I also picked up a new pair of track pedal cheap from bikebug and may even get another pair for the roadie. You can also get different axle lengths as well if you need them.
Relevant. My light action set turned up in the mail about two hours ago. Will be giving them a run next week. Seems promising.
heh, heh:
The plastic adapter that this cleat screwed into was four years old, so you can’t be too upset. Even though I was at the time.
Pro tip - if you tighten the screws tighter, it clamps the circlip tighter, effectively making it harder to disengage. Also, harder to engage. So if you love that locked in feel, tighten the screws up a bit more.
I love that you can choose when the float starts with the grub screws. Easier than moving a cleat around on three screws.
Anyone ride them brakeless on the street?
I’m thinking about trying them at the track since I use them on my road bike but wondering if anyone has had any issues accidentally unclipping when I commute on the same bike.
I used them a while, and loved them.
I agree with Seb about the ‘so many parts’, especially the screws. I found the screws that attached the base plate to the shoe come loose easily, which make the cleat wobble around. Not the best. It might be the screw receiver on the shoe, I dunno. I haven’t used them for over ages now and just run MTB SPDs all the time.
If I got a dedicated roadie again I’d run them
Well there you go. That’s some well rusted screws right here, blame that tropical Brisbane weather…
Yep for years BUT I think the skidding (a fair bit over a long time) contributed heavily to the eventual destruction of the roller bearing. You can get replacement bearing kits but inserting the bearing will the destroy the casing… says the speedplay service book… then how did you get them in there speedplay??? hey hey!
Anyways, yeah, they won’t pull out. (your feet that is)
Can’t speak for the “light” version however.
Thanks folks, much to think about. The float of the Speedplays how does that actually feel? Hard to explain really but even though that the yellow Shimano cleats offer some float you don’t really feel it as such. Meaning you have to actively move your heel (or let the knee find its best position while riding). Is the float of the Speedplays a more natural one to to speak?
Most of the good bike fitters I know off love them so they must have a reason to do so.